A hinged electrical connector is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,632,475. The male or tab contact sections of electrical contacts in a first dielectric housing are electrically engaged by female or receptacle contact sections of electrical contacts in a second dielectric housing. The second dielectric housing is pivotally mounted to the first housing so that the housings can be moved relative to one another when the electrical contacts are electrically connected to respective circuit boards, thereby enabling the circuit boards to be angularly positioned relative to each other. Each tab contact section has a uniform width therealong with a radiused front end which enables the tab contact section to be positioned within a respective parallel spaced plate of the receptacle contact section. The positioning of the tab contact sections within the receptacle contact sections is difficult because the area of contact between these contact sections is quite large, as is the coefficient of friction therebetween, especially when a large number of contacts are involved. Moreover, the pivotal movement of the contact sections is hampered as a result of the large area of contact and the large coefficient of friction between the sections. If the coefficient of friction is reduced by decreasing the forces of engagement of the receptacle contact sections onto the tab contact sections, this will enable the tab contact sections to be more easily positioned and move with respect to the receptacle contact sections. However, the electrical resistance between the contact sections will be increased resulting in corrosion problems which are undesirable for electronic circuits. Such an arrangement is therefore undesirable.
Another hinged electrical connector is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,657,320 wherein the recesses of the dielectric housing in which the receptacle contact sections are disposed are appropriately dimensioned so as to bias the receptacle contact sections into engagement with the tab contact sections thereby increasing the coefficient of friction therebetween making it difficult to position the tab contact sections within the receptacle contact sections and to pivotally move the contact sections relative to each other.
The objective of the present invention is to provide a hinged electrical connector that overcomes the problems of the above-described hinged electrical connectors. Other objectives are to reduce the contact pressure applied by the receptacle contact sections on the tab contact sections during insertion and removal therefrom, maintain a high degree of reliability during use and meet the needs of increasing density of components on the circuit boards.